A Little Discovery
by his.dark.demise
Summary: Sequel to "A Little Excitement". Seventeen years and two children later, Buddy and Violet appear to be living a close to perfect life. Unfortunately family secrets can't stay that way forever, and a young girl is about to change the world...
1. Parenthood

_Hey there! Welcome back to the sequel for "A Little Excitement"_. _I was just hanging out one day and this idea came to me. Another guilty pleasure fic that will hopefully see its end if all goes well. I've also got some fanart on my DeviantArt for those who'd like a visual on these little sweeties. Kids? Who would've thunk it? Enjoy!_

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><p>"So far so good," Mr. Incredible smirked in Dakota's direction as the teenager dropped what was left of an old car. The two of them were in a large room where the spikey-haired boy often came for practice with his powers; it was safe and away from prying eyes. The place was also good for Mr. Incredible's occasional exercise, which was what he had been doing previously. The super strong man picked up a bus over his head, raising an eyebrow. "But not good enough!"<p>

Dakota's blue eyes flashed with a strange aura as the bus suddenly came hurling at him. He put his hands up, stopping the large vehicle's descent upon him. The weight of it pushed his feet backwards, but there it was, suspended in mid-air just beyond his reach, surrounded in the same red aura. Dakota gritted his teeth, willing as much energy as he could into keeping the bus where it was. Mr. Incredible smiled, impressed. For a boy with only one super parent, his powers were outstanding. Eventually Dakota shouted from the effort, letting his arms drop, and the bus along with them. The ground shook, and the boy nearly fell over. "Good enough?" He panted.

"Good enough." Mr. Incredible smiled.

"I've been practicing really hard, really wish I could grab something bigger, but.. well."

"Give it some time, you're still young."

"I'm fifteen, Grampa. That's five years away from twenty!"

"I still can't believe that's my kid." Buddy sighed from the other side of the training room, watching with intense interest with Violet. "Shame there's no manual for stuff like this."

"There isn't a manual for your moods either, but I seem to be getting along just fine." Violet smirked, jabbing him in the arm playfully. He cringed, returning his eyes back to the sight on the other side of the glass. Dakota had picked up several small items, launching them forward to smash against a far wall. It was as if he'd acquired a real-life zero-point energy that didn't need to be aimed and never ran out. That wasn't even the only thing the teen could do. It boggled Buddy's mind that the boy had none of his intellect, yet rivaled his mother's powers with only half the genes of a typical super. Call it luck, call it a freak of nature, but damn.

When the idea of kids had come to light, the last thing he'd expected was what he'd been given. Two kids with two extremes of either parent and like hell if he'd agree to a third. Playing Russian roulette with his remaining sanity wasn't Buddy's idea of fun regardless of what excuse Violet tried to give him. Just as he'd been thinking this, a little girl with bright red hair entered the room, peering through the window with a curious expression. "The trajectory is off. Hmph."

"Does it really matter?" Buddy muttered down at the small version of himself.

"Of course it matters! Ten degrees more is the difference between damage and death!"

"Do I have to start watching what books you're checking out from the library again, Lily?" Violet turned towards the girl, eyes narrowed sternly. The thirteen year old stood aghast, shaking her head quickly. The response didn't seem to elicit the response that she was hoping for, but it took the attention away from her favorite hobby temporarily.

Of the two children, both parents were more concerned about the well being of their daughter. Buddy often swore up and down that Lily was re-living his life from the day he was born. She had been born without any special powers, but unfortunately she'd managed to inherit not only her father's flaming hair and freckles, but his brain as well. That fact alone was enough to make the former villain do everything within his power to keep the girl on the straight and narrow with the law. Just as his foster parents often lectured him, Buddy found himself often reminding the pre-teen genius that she was indeed human and not half as old as she wanted to be. The battle of same-thinking minds was often surreal, but due to being the parent, he often (and thankfuly) won.

"Hey 'Kota! Catch!" Lily had run out into the training area and had wound up a baseball, tossing it at him. The ball was nearly halfway there before she'd called and he'd hardly had time to turn around and stop it. "Bet you can't get it through that window!" She pointed at the bus that he'd tossed down and strode over towards her older brother. He ducked down and allowed her to point the direction out and explain what he had to do to accomplish the silly goal.

"Really normal family we've got." Buddy muttered. Violet giggled. Much to their relief, the younger girl hadn't felt any ill-remorse towards her brother, but instead seemed to idolize the boy. They were often caught getting into trouble of all varieties around the neighborhood, and someone would be hard pressed to find one child without the other. He was interested in the experiments she often conducted, and she was interested in just how far his powers could really go; it was win-win.

Dakota launched the baseball toward the window, frowning as he'd missed and hit the one beside it. Instead of having time to ponder it, his eyes slowly widened as the missle bounced around inside the vehicle, smashing every window with enough fervor to cause Lily to cheer in excitement before the ball finally came back to its surprised owner. She clapped for him, and he made a sweeping bow.

"I'll admit it, Pine. You've got your hands full." Mr. Incredible smirked, giving his daughter a light hug before heading back home. Accepting the fact that Violet had wanted to spend the rest of her life with the very person who'd caused him an inate amount of misery wasn't easy. Fortunately, the one thing he could've wished upon the younger man had come true, and now he had two bundles of insanity to show for it. Not that he minded the extra family, in fact he loved the heck out of the kids, and they seemed to have similar feelings. It was something to clear the air, at least.

"If only you knew." Buddy muttered. The ride home had been uneventful and dinner had been generally silent until the kids decided that they needed something to talk about over turkey.

"Charlie talked to me today." Lily sighed, and Dakota's eyes rolled.

"He's such a jerk."

"So are you, what's new?"

"He gave Joey a swirly the other day!" Dakota shot back, but his sister was unconvinced that her dream-man had any bad qualities. While Violet wanted to interject about arguing at the table, she ended up being too amused to say anything. It must've been nice to have a sibling within a close enough age range to be able to talk about those things. Tony-loaf. Sigh.

"New subject. You're moving busses now." Lily smiled.

"Eh, not really. I can't hold onto it for long and I definitely can't throw it."

"Still, that's pretty big. You know what would be really cool? Pulling up the road underneath someone. Just like that cartoon. Think you can do that?" The two of them snickered at the memory, and Dakota shrugged. Violet finished chewing her food, putting her fork into the air.

"Don't take on too much at a time. Don't want to hurt yourself."

"I know, I know." Dakota sighed, pushing his peas around the plate. It was usually around this time that it occurred to Buddy that he was indeed listening in on such a strange conversation. For all intents and purposes, he was nothing but the average dad who just happened to make a lot more money than most parents and just happened to be too smart to out-smart. The kids knew nothing of his former alter-ego, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. Hell, there were some days when he woke up and realized he was a dad! Fifteen years later and he was still trying to take the whole idea in.

While Dakota was training to join the supers on their nightly vigils, he was still too young and inexperienced. Nobody knew the full extent of his powers, and he had only recently been taking lessons from a resident telekenetic super. The friend of Elastigirl had warned Violet to be careful with him after viewing his abilities for herself; it was the kind of thing she rarely saw a child of his age do, and she was convinced that the red aura was a forboding color...but nobody ever claimed that the lady was entirely sane herself. Regardless, he spent every tuesday after class at her house and after much labored practice was able to successfully communicate with telekenesis.

"I did a little bit of reading on stem-cell research in class today." Lily broke the silence, taking a drink of her milk. "I've been wondering if the super's abilities have anything to do with that. Or maybe," She grinned. "It's in the blood, like the saying goes. Hey Kota, can I have some of your blood?"

"Um, no." Buddy interjected, lowering the newspaper he'd been reading. "You obviously forgot to read the part where they were arguing over the morality of it. And no sticking your brother with needles. Not until you get your PhD."

"A guy who creates weapons of mass destruction for a living is arguing with me over morality?"

"Irooonnyyy." Dakota snickered.

"Don't get him started, Lily." Violet pointed at the girl with her fork. She pointed the fork at Dakota as well, eyes darting between the two children threateningly. It was a subject that Buddy would've gladly argued his daughter under the table over, but his wife's intervention cut his upcomming monologue short.

"So you're saying if I get a PhD, I can stick 'Kota?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"Don't say that!" Dakota argued, cringing.

"You heard it!" She pointed at him, laughing, but her brother wasn't amused.

"It's my blood, don't I get a choice!"

"Of course you do." Violet replied.

"NOT!" Lily snickered.

"Help with the dishes, please." Their mother smiled pleasantly at the two groaning kids and walked off with her plate. Lily jabbered on about her PhD plans while Dakota tried not to think about it. After everything was finished the kids went off to their respective rooms and left the parents with some much-needed alone time. Buddy clicked away at his cell phone and Violet took to a good book, using his shoulder as a pillow. After a long moment of silence, it was she who spoke.

"They're getting bigger every day."

"You always say that."

"I think I actually mean it this time." She chuckled lightly, putting her book down and snuggling up with him. After the last text message, he was finally able to put the phone away. She smiled, landing a neat kiss on his cheek and sighing gently. Violet would have never imagined that a random marriage proposal could last seventeen years, but there they were. The funny thing about it was that neither of them had really been interested in children at first. What with Buddy's high-profile work and Violet's little diner on the corner, there was hardly time for anybody but themselves, and even that was put into jeapordy many times. At some point the decision had been toiled over, and then bam. It happened.

"One of these days they're gonna figure it out." Buddy murmured, running a hand along Violet's raven hair that she'd never bothered to cut into any other style. She nodded from her place on his shoulder and sighed.

"Someday. I really don't know why you worry so much about it. Whether you want to believe it or not, you're still just the same old Buddy Pine to me. I doubt they'd think any differently."

"I'm not old."

"Are you ever going to accept the facts?" She smiled up at him. Buddy raised an eyebrow, peering at her skeptically. If not for the fact that she was a girl, he might've been secretly jealous of the fact that she hadn't aged a day past twenty. Then again, she didn't have his job either. But past all of that, it was all in the eyes. Something about them, they were just.. fun to look at. He smirked.

"About the time you accept that two is as many as you're gonna get." She paused for a moment, then proceeded to pout and return to her customary snuggling place. Violet smirked to herself.

"Gonna have to get sneaky, I guess."

"Gonna start sleeping on the couch if the thought ever crosses your mind."

"Already did..."

"Was nice knowin' ya, babe." Her reaction had included a not-so-painful jab to the side as he attemted to salute and scoot to the other side of the couch. The way was blocked by a small force field, and Buddy could do little else but pretend to be terrified. She laughed hysterically and returned to his side, yawning from the long day.

"What're you afraid of, anyway?" She snarked.

"The world isn't prepared for a super-smart super, trust me."

"Or a perfectly normal person."

"Are you willing to take that gamble?" He peered at her warily, but the look on her face told all. Not that it mattered. This was one battle that she'd never win. A kiss shared between them was interrupted by "Gross", as Lily passsed by on her way to the kitchen. The comment was met by a simultanious roll of their eyes as she returned in the same direction. Eventually silence reconvened between the two parents, but it was interrupted by an unexpected text. Buddy reached over the coffee table to pick up the phone that was attempting to vibrate its way off the table, flipping it open.

_Don't worry, Syndrome. I remember you._

"What the hell?" He muttered, checking the number of the message's sender only to find nothing.

"What is it?" Violet peered up at him, but he'd deleted the message as quickly as it had appeared.

"Idiot from work." Buddy replied quickly, putting the phone down again and sitting back thoughtfuly. For the rest of the night he couldn't help but look over his shoulder, expecting someone or something to be in the shadows, listening in on his conversations. Had that message been a coincidence? It had to be! But all that asside, the last time he'd bothered to play the bad guy was before Dakota had been born. Who would even recall him, let alone text about it? The thought had bothered him enough to lose sleep over.

_I remember him too... but I sure as hell don't remember you._


	2. Name Dropping

"Come on, Kota. It's only a pinch. Don't be such a wuss."

"Is this really necessary?"

"It's all in the name of science, my lesser-minded brother." Lily smiled deviously. She had her brother's hand in her own with a needle aimed down at his finger. Dakota wore an expression of extreme wariness, ready to pull away and run for it if she suddenly decided to play doctor and amputate. He sucked in a breath as she poked him, using a small examination glass to collect the sample she'd fought tooth and nail for. Her father could argue with her all he wanted, but her research wasn't about to be halted by mere parents. As soon as the deed was done, Dakota stuck his finger in his mouth with a frown.

"Don't make me re-arrange your room again." He muttered. His sister hadn't heard him, however. She was already over at her microscope examining the evidence. Her long orange hair had been pulled into a ponytail, and she even wore a lab coat. The whole look gave her the appearance of being a somewhat short adult. Then again, she was already fairly short for her age, only an inch or two over five feet. So much for enjoying a childhood and having a normal life like everyone else. It was one of the things that Dakota often found Buddy lecturing Lily about, but she wasn't about to slow her plans down to make him happy.

"You do, and I'll disintegrate your guitar. For real this time." The response was distracted. Dakota knew he wouldn't get anything else out of her for the rest of the night. He shook his head, leaving the girl to her work. It was a short walk from the room in Buddy's office building to the ground floor. He waved at the secretary on his way out, pulling his skateboard out of his backpack and rolling towards home.

Dakota cleared his mind as the skateboard gained speed, taking the time to think. The wind blowing directly at him would do nothing to kill the teen's momentum. It was the one time he could use his powers without being noticed, and he took full advantage of it. He saw the world differently, felt things that others couldn't. It was hard to explain, but he'd never really felt normal outside of his school life. Had his mother felt like that? Dakota took a leap over a park bench, landing effortlessly. Then again, who was he to talk about feeling like a freak when his younger sister was attending college at thirteen?

"I'm home, Mom." The boy had called into the front door. The skateboard floated to its usual position against a far wall. He kicked his shoes off as Violet stuck her head around a corner, waving enthusiastically.

"History test?" She raised an eyebrow. Her son cringed backwards and her gaze turned from excitement to disappointment. That was until he smiled and did a thumbs-up.

"Passed. Ninety-five."

"And what was I saying about stu-"

"I know, I know, you're always right. Don't need to rub it in." Dakota rolled his eyes as his mother returned to the kitchen with a particularly smug look on her face. He'd thought about it many times and realized that regardless of the 'rules of the house', he might've had the raddest mom on the block. Something about Violet just screamed bubbly. It was as if she was living a perfect life, and the positive energy infected everybody around her. Now if only her cooking could be half as awesome. He'd have nothing to complain about. The spikey-haired boy shuffled his way to his room, hopping on his bed and picking up the guitar he'd acquired a few years back. Within minutes he had his music player pumping tunes into his ears, strumming along with his favorite songs. A famous musician he would be, and that was the end of it!

"Pack it up, work's over." Buddy stuck his head into Lily's work area, raising an eyebrow at the numerous different vials and things he didn't bother putting a name to that littered the room. This wasn't his area of expertise, and he didn't even pretend to understand half of what his daughter was attempting to accomplish. He made bombs and built machines; the human genome had no place in his work. The young girl had appeared from behind a table carrying several objects which she'd quickly put away. A few minutes later, the two were taking the car home.

"Do I want to know what you're doing in there?" He'd asked her casually, and she'd shrugged.

"Gene splicing. I'm trying to pull the chromosome apart to get down into the molecular level. I have a feeling I'll find the answer there. It's so close, I can smell it!"

"If you need them to explode, page me."

"Very funny, Dad." Lily sighed. A small computer sat in her lap and she typed at it diligently. Notes from her various experiments, outcomes and shortfalls littered the desktop. Buddy sighed, stopping for the red-light.

"But seriously, you should considering giving it a rest for a minute."

"When I'm on the verge of an important discovery? Forget it!"

"I would've said the same thing."

"You of all people would know what that's like."

"Me of all people also know what it's like to regret never stopping to smell the flowers once in a while. Brainiac or not, you've only got one life." Lily shut her laptop, shoving it into her bag with an exaggerated sigh. She reached up to let her hair from its ponytail, wrapping the band around her wrists.

"Yeah, yeah. Be a kid. I get it. Fine. Sleepover on saturday, and we get to do your makeup." The look on her face had been entirely too malicious for his liking, but his 'when hell freezees over' expression had caused her to laugh out loud. For the first time in several months, it felt like father and daughter instead of two co-workers in the car. For the sake of pleasant conversation, she talked about her day at school, the cute boys, and the dumbest teacher she'd ever met.

As much as she hated her father constantly impeding on her work and research, she couldn't entirely dislike him. Beyond similar minds and manerisms, they couldn't be any more different. They where on opposite ends of the intelligence spectrum. However, when it all came down to it, he was the only person she could relate to and often the only person worth talking to when she was having a bad day. It had been Buddy's idea to move her experiments into his office building much to Violet's discontent; some of it was becoming too dangerous or high-profile for a typical suburban home. He wasn't encouraging Lily! He was keeping the house in one piece! Perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

Lily had a considerably large smile on her face as she'd entered her home after a particularly lame attempt at cracking a joke. She had nearly tripped over Dakota who had been laying on the floor, watching a television program.

"You guys just missed it." He pointed at the tube as a reporter mentioned something about the day being saved thanks to the efforts of a certain group of supers, one of them being their mother. As expected, dinner had been set out ahead of time for the two late-comers to munch on. "Can't wait to get out there too." Dakota sighed dreamily.

"That's a conversation I'll save until your mom gets home." Buddy muttered past his fork.

"What's that about Mom?" Violet popped her head into the front door and sweeping in with her usual smile. The kids cheered and Buddy rolled his eyes while the raven-haired woman took a gentle bow and said her thank yous to the audience. All seemed to be well until her eyes met Buddy's. For split second he could've sworn that something was amiss, but the moment had passed as quickly as it had been there. This strange occurence had left him pondering while Dakota talked with his mother excitedly about the next upcoming weeks. The young telekenetic had finally been deemed experienced enough to join the battle for good!

"We'll run by Rick's office after school tomorrow so he can go over all the details. Unfortunately, we can't just just go willy nilly after the baddies. And you won't be alone at any time, at least if I have anything to say about it." Violet tutted at Dakota as he moaned. All that work and he'd still have a babysitter?

"At least you don't have a three hour homeroom tomorrow." Lily countered her brother's discontent. "Boooring!" The teen was taken from his line of thought, staring at his sister instead.

"Are you kidding? I'd kill for that! Lucky!"

"Just because you want to sit around and rot your brains out..."

"Better than burning them out over all this training."

"Moving chairs around with your mind must be so hard." Lily rolled her eyes.

"As a matter of fact it is." He snapped back in such a sassy way that it caused both of them to snicker. Violet shook her head, pointing towards the hallway. With sighs of defeat they both headed off to bed. Violet put her elbows up on the kitchen table that they'd all been sitting at, fingers burried into her bangs. She made a tired noise in the direction of the man who'd spaced out on his text messages. A set of blue eyes shifted up towards her just long enough to adress that he was listening.

"One of the new kids on the block did some interesting name-dropping."

"Such as?"

"Would you believe that he was talking about you?" The suggestion had caused Buddy to quit his typing immediately. Instead, his eyes were focused on the screen that had delivered the strange message only a few days before. Could it be the same person? Violet focused in on his reaction, suddenly suspicious. There was no way that he could have enough time to be causing trouble himself. Maybe it was just coincidence...but then again, this wouldn't be the first time that he had been caught raising hell on the sidelines.

"Stop whatever you're thinking." He'd spoken as if on a queue.

"What exactly am I thinking?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What did I tell you about assuming?"

"What did I tell you about jumping to conclusions?" She shot him down immediately, but it had taken no less than that to turn what should have been a simple conversation into a debate of which of them was the most credible. Buddy clenched his jaw for a moment.

"Whatever the hell it is, I've got nothing to do with it. You should know better." It would have ended there if he hadn't added such an accusatory remark at the end of his sentence. When she sat there with her mouth open, speechless, he'd realized too late the can of worms he'd just opened.

"You're right, Buddy. I should know better. I should definately know better about some guy that came out of nowhere talking about Syndrome like you two were best pals or something! I really should know exactly what my husband is up to when I'm not around!"

"Because people NEVER lie, Vi." The way in which he'd used the sarcasm caused her to throw her hands up.

"God, fine! It isn't you! Whatever the case, call your little pals and have a bad-guy conference or whatever it is you people do-"

"This is NOT the road you want to go down."

"Not again, anyway." Violet grumbled, dropping her head into her arms. Buddy pushed his chair back harshly, clearly refusing to be a martyr when he'd done nothing to deserve it. He got to his feet and snapped the phone shut.

"Check the ego before you come to bed. It's really unflattering." He hissed, stalking away. Violet repressed the groan she wanted so badly to let out until she was sure he was out of hearing distance. Did the most self-centered man on the planet really just have enough nerve to say that to her? She wasn't sure if she wanted to join him at all now.

_If this isn't irony, I don't know what is..._

Violet sat on the couch with a solitary light later that night. She had a cup of tea in hand and every intention of sleeping there if she could only calm herself down. Sure, she'd accidentally jumped down his throat for no reason. Maybe. But she of all people knew how hard it was for Buddy to stay on the right side of the law. No matter how many times he promised that things would change, something else would always crop up, and now that there were kids involved, she had every right to take these slip-ups seriously! Especially now that Dakota was going to be allowed along on her missions! Violet sighed, rubbing out a headache. Maybe she was just getting upset over nothing. Maybe that new guy had just been trying to get under everyone's skin. Damnit, why are you still dwelling over it?

He'd stalked around the room for nearly half an hour instead of going to sleep. Just before the point at which he was sure he would run a hole in the floor, he'd flipped open his phone and speed-dialed, peering through the blinds while it rang. This was getting cleared up. Now.

"Mirage, darling..."

"What do you want from me, Buddy." The woman sighed from the other line, wandering across her apartment after the late-night call.

"Hook me up with a number, if you'd be so kind. A certain minion and I have some catching up to do."


	3. Viral

_To clarify for any of those who have been reading "Recidivus", this is the same villain in a different story. You'll learn a bit more about him in later chapters, but for now, trouble's a-brewing!_

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><p>"Almost there. Come on, split, damnit!" Lily muttered to herself from behind a gene splicer. Her hair was in its usual messy up-do, and the girl looked as though she hadn't seen sleep in some time. Why did super DNA have to be so elastic? The samples she'd taken proved to be almost more trouble than they were worth. If she weren't so close to a breakthrough, she would have already stormed around in a rage. Something had to give on this day, and like hell if it was going to be Lily Pine!<p>

"I think you need a new hobby." Dakota snarked from a corner of her makeshift office, strumming the strings of his guitar. Lily poked her head out from around the microscope. She gave him a dirty look and continued right on along.

"Would you rather be here doing something interesting, or back home listening to 'rents bicker like little kids." He wanted to come back with some kind of smart ass remark, but she'd left him with a good point. Whatever conversation they'd had after the kids had gone to bed seemed to have poured over into the next day, and even the day after that. It was like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable object. Even Dakota was getting tired of it. Who knows what they were arguing about; he couldn't even take a side!

"I'd rather be at the movies with normal kids." He muttered.

"Good luck with- holy crap!" His younger sister jumped away from the machine, eyes wide. Dakota turned his attention towards her sharply. She was back at her work only moments later, fiercely involved all of a sudden. Dakota got to his feet and joined her side. He poked her shoulder, but it was swatted away until she was ready to unleash her discovery. "This is outstanding!"

"What? What?" He prodded her. Lily ran away from the scene, activating one of the many television screens around the room. At first, Dakota wasn't sure what he was even looking at. It was cells, obviously. Or molecules or something. The little arm that had been separating them moved into the picture, pointing to a single lone molecule.

"That, is you. Alone and lonely without any friends." Lily smirked, but as Dakota rolled his eyes, he had a feeling that she wasn't finished. How right he was. "That, is the thing that makes you super. Take it away, and you're just a boring kid who can't sing."

"Can we do this without all the insults?"

"Could, but I'm not finished. Look what happens." The molecule on the screen was moved towards another similar molecule. It was molecule mating season, he guessed. However, instead of the two joining as he would expect from his last biology class, they simply... created. Hundreds of molecules appeared as if out of nowhere until the entire screen was full of them. "Great minds really do think alike. You've only got one of those, Kota. Imagine what that would be like."

"Would hurt like hell." He responded.

"Moving chairs? You'd move buildings. You'd move whole cities." Lily was clearly caught in a geeky dream, and it caused Dakota to roll his eyes and shake his head. "This would re-define the word 'super' as we know it. They'd be unstoppable! This could create supers, Dakota."

"As if being born a freak wasn't bad enough. Now you want freaks to be born in test tubes?"

"A simple injection on a normal human being would be easy enough." Lily shrugged, moving to another table and tapping on a laptop quickly. While Dakota was happy for his sister's interesting discovery, the more she talked the more frightening she sounded. Maybe Violet should have been watching the books she was reading after all. It was as if he was reading Frankenstein all over again.

"You should probably ask Dad before you go and-"

"NO!" She nearly jumped over the table she'd been standing behind, running right up to Dakota with her hands on his shoulders as if trying to stop him. "You can't tell anybody about this! It's highly classified material!"

"Highly stupid too!" He countered, but she wasn't willing to compromise.

"Nobody, Kota! Not Mom, not Dad, not anybody! Not until it's finished!"

"Until what's finished?" The two kids spun around to meet the gaze of their father. He must've snuck through the door. Buddy was leaning in the doorway now, looking entirely too skeptical. Lily immediately coughed and wandered about the room. Dakota looked between the two, unsure of which direction to go. What his sister was attempting to accomplish was dangerous. It could be deadly! He'd be in the wrong for protecting her.

"Just doing some homework, that's all." He found himself saying.

"Awfully noisy homework." He came back, arms crossing.

"Sorry, Kota wanted to go to the movies, and I was just uh.. telling him. Not until after homework!" She shouted for emphasis, shaking a finger at her brother who couldn't have felt any more guilty. Buddy didn't appear to be buying it and there was no reason why he should've. Of all the parents to try and fool, he wasn't the right one. Equally as intelligent as his sister, the owner of a multi-billion dollar industry with a knack for reading people. This wasn't going to work. Lily didn't break her story.

"Whatever." He obviously didn't believe it, but the response had boggled both of the kids. "Look, you two are gonna have to find your own way home tonight. Got some places to get to. I won't be home for dinner. In fact, I might not be home at all. Let your mom know. This," He pointed into the room, directly at her experiment. "I'll get back to this."

"I took my bike, we'll be fine." Dakota waved, glad to be out of the line of fire at least temporarily. Buddy nodded, straightening his tie and turning on his heel in another direction. The two children let out sighs of relief, but it was Dakota who couldn't help but wonder to himself as they walked out the door and headed home. Lily had slung her backpack on and jumped on the back of the bike's pegs.

"What's with the silence?" She'd asked about halfway home.

"Dad's being weird."

"Dad's being Dad."

"I know that, but something just didn't feel right about it. I don't know where he's going, but I don't think it's anywhere good." Dakota sighed, relaxing as the bike hit the top of the hill and began picking up speed as they headed downwards. Lily snarked.

"Innocent little Dad up to something fishy?"

"I can't explain it, okay? I just know something's up. Like all that arguing! They haven't been at each other like that since you were eight or something. I just feel like there's something he's not telling us, or not telling mom, or.. I don't know. Maybe it's a sixth sense or something."

"I think you need to work on your predicting a little more. You and I both know that Dad isn't exactly some criminal mastermind. If he was, do you think Mom would've married him?"

"It's against the superhero code. She couldn't."

"There's a book for this stuff?"

"Not exactly. I'm not really allowed to get into it, but you made your point."

"You're over thinking it, Kota. And besides. If it's really that big of a deal, ask Mom. She's never kept stuff from us before." Lily poked her brother in the back. The two of them hopped off the bike and headed inside. Dakota immediately wished that he was elsewhere when his mother poked her head around the corner as usual. Violet tilted her head at the lack of a family member. The children smiled, shrugging.

"Dad had places to go, he says." Lily threw off her backpack. Violet shook her head. This was clearly not the answer she was looking for. Just another tactic the jerk liked to use when he didn't feel like dealing with his damn problems. He wasn't going to escape this time. Violet immediately dialed up his phone, surprised when it was answered after the first ring.

"Where the hell are you?" She asked quietly, but the tone in her voice told all.

"Holding a bad guy conference, just like you suggested. I've got a few reliable contacts to meet with here shortly-"

"You can't do that! Forget about the guy already, and forget we ever had the conversation if it'll make you feel better!"

"Actually, darling, I can." It was a cruel kind of sweetness that she absolutely despised. "When I silence the idiot that thinks he can talk big without consequences, then I'll sleep easy and we can put the whoooole thing behind us."

"What does it matter if the guy talks, Buddy! You're not thinking! Ugh, dammit, you KNOW I can't bail you out of something this stupid! Don't do it! Please, just let it go for once!"

"Can't do that, babe. I'll see you later tonight." Violet pushed the phone away from her ear, staring at it in disbelief. He just hung up on her! Her first reaction was to call her mother to warn them that her husband had gone ape shit again, but she resisted the urge. So far as she knew, he wasn't exactly planning to burn down Metroville. Sure, his idea of a meeting and hers were slightly different, but still. God, why did he have to take small stuff so personally! Violet leaned against the wall behind her, tapping her head against it. _You married a psycho. You married a psycho. You married a psy-_

"Mom, what's going on?" Dakota gave his mother a stern look as he and Lily entered the kitchen. Violet would have attempted to compose herself, but at this point it was fairly pointless. Instead of trying to explain the complexities of their otherwise impossible relationship, she sighed.

"Nothing. Everything's fine. Just a misunderstanding."

"A lot more than that." Lily muttered before taking a seat at the dinner table. Dakota sat as well, and it was clear that they had no intention of leaving until the truth was uncovered. Violet rubbed her arm nervously. Two against one. How could she even begin? She knew in her mind that this day was eventually going to come, but hell if she'd ever made plans on what she'd say. She'd also hoped that the subject of the conversation would be present.

"I think we need to order pizza."

"How's it going, Miney?" Buddy Pine swept by his old cohort with a pleasant smile and expensive business suit. The dusty man cringed away with a frightened gaze, stumbling over his own feet to mutter a respectful but stammered greeting. In all truthfulness he hadn't called this meeting. It was just something that was done once in a while. Whether it was a sad attempt at creating alliances or just something to waste time, Buddy wasn't entirely sure...but it got him away from home and might get him closer to whoever this chatty fellow was.

Buddy had passed several villains as he went through the long corridor, not at all bothered by his lack of disguise. The others knew damn well who he was and after such a long run of success, it was only a matter of time. Buddy didn't come to these meetings out of requirement; Syndrome was dead, so far as the hero world was concerned. He had made a business out of villainy and now sat as one of the most highly respected - and still feared - guarantors of a few tech-savvy baddies. He was here squarely to be sure that his investments were being put to good use.

"Yo, Pine! The old folk's home keeps callin' me! You gotta quit sneakin' out at night!" One of the villains called up to the man who was sprawled lazily over his chair, elbows up and behind the back of it. His blue eyes tilted to meet the kid's smile. He was about the age Buddy had been when his career had been made public. He liked his spunk, but the only response the kid would get was as he turned his hand around to lazily flip him off. The kid gasped in mock insult, putting his arms out.

"Bring it, boss!" Oh, this brat had it coming to him. Buddy sat up straight in his chair, looking like he might get up and take the challenge. The surrounding onlookers chuckled as the former villain jerked forward and the kid ran like hell, laughing manically the whole way with "Holy Sh-! Miss ya, old man!" Maybe he was a little too spunky. Buddy smiled regardless. It was just good to be back around like-minded company again. He leaned back and spaced out on his text messages as the 'meeting' began. The only time that he stopped was to occasionally interject on someone's idea. Mostly to shoot it down. Then he appeared.

"Long time no see, Syndrome. Did you get my message?" A man had slid into the chair beside Buddy. He was around Violet's age with similarly black hair. It was just long enough to be pulled into a low pony-tail. This new person looked perfectly happy to see Buddy; the CEO's expression was nothing close to matching those feelings.

"What part of 'get lost' don't you seem to understand?" Buddy muttered at the smiling man.

"All of it, actually. I'm glad you're here, though. I need a little favor."

"You've been living in a cave for a few years, then," Buddy waved him off. "I'm retired. No longer accepting commission."

"I can imagine how much of a pain it must be to be held down with a family. Especially one as unique as your own. And I use that term very loosely. A super girl, a super villain, and two kids in the dark. For now, anyway. They're definitely special, you should be proud!" The look on Buddy's face was becoming ever-so-malicious, but at least the guy had his attention now. "That little girl especially. She's got something that I'm highly interested in, have you seen it yet?"

"Viral, I hope you aren't too attached to your legs."

"Why's that, my former cohort?"

"Because I'm going to break them if you don't walk away. _Right now_." The man now known as Viral wasn't sure if Buddy could actually go through with his threat. His face had gone from malicious to murderous at the mention of the children. Miraculously, he managed to stay relatively calm and collected. Perhaps he cared more about his family than he let on... which was perfect. Viral tisked at Buddy's threat with an apathetic smile. Buddy wanted to crush the idiot's face in. He could easily get away with it here. It was a mistake to think he needed gadgets to beat the everliving shit out of Viral.

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this the hard way, Syndrome." It took effort not to roll his eyes at the guy, but his attention was elsewhere only moments later. Slowly creeping up on the room were dozens of strange little spiders. Viral slid out of his chair and moved gracefully to the front of the room. Many eyes followed him and the speaker was silenced, all curious as to the nature of the interruption. "Oh, you might want to sit tight for this one." He called over his shoulder. No less than a moment later Buddy found himself blocked in his seat by a large mechanical spider. He fought against the arms, but nothing would budge them. Meanwhile, the rest of the room was overtaken by spiders of all shapes and sizes from tiny to gigantic. Viral stood at the podium with a vile grin, staring at the one who'd stopped resisting as the rest of the villains fought their way out of the swarm.

"The fun's only just begun!"

The pizza had arrived on time. Mother and children munched away at it silently. They were still waiting on an answer to a question that she had no interest in talking about. Violet was desperate for something that could interrupt such an awkward dinner, but the solution that came wasn't what she'd had in mind. It was her phone that had broken the silence. She picked it up quickly, examining the number and answering pleasantly. Both kids knew something was wrong the moment the other person began to speak.

"Violet? It's Mirage. Come to the office right away. Bring Dakota and Lily with you. We've got big problems."


	4. I'm God Now

_I apologize for the delay between chapters. I no longer have regular access to a computer, so updates will be slightly erratic. In the meantime, our little story is about to take a dark turn that even Buddy didn't see coming. Is Viral tied more closely into his past than he realizes, and what does that mean for the fate of our two little heroes?_

* * *

><p>"Your <em>raison d'etre<em>, dear Syndrome, is your work. What would Pine industries be without its amazingly gifted owner?" Viral strode back and forth in front of a cell. His singular audience sat on a bench within it. Buddy Pine leaned against the cell wall with a scowl, hands in his pockets and disinterested in conversation. Instead of listening, his mind continually ran over the reel of his last words with Violet. You know I can't bail you out of something this stupid! She was right about one thing at least; this whole situation really was stupid. "A shell of a company, that's what it would be. You know it as well as I do."

"You're monolouging, Viral." Buddy yawned, leaning further into the wall.

"Oh, how _faux pas_." The man replied, pausing his step. "Shall I get straight to the point, then?"

"If you'd be so kind." The red-head allowed himself a very fake smile.

"Kein Problem, Herr. You have something that I want. Or rather, she does." Viral flipped out a picture of Lily that had been recently taken. Buddy didn't want to think about how long this freak had been following he and his family around for. The idea that this might just be Mirage's elaborate idea of a joke crossed his mind as well for a moment. Viral, of all people! "It hasn't been quite completed yet, unfortunately. There was a little nick in production when they realized that you were missing."

"C'est la vie, then." Buddy rolled his eyes. The notion had a double meaning. Once for the fact that he was caught in a cage with an idiot (as once happened before), and the other for the fact that Violet now had the right to say 'I told you so' after he was broken out by whomever was sent. Viral didn't seem to be entirely displeased by the lack of progress in his conversation. It was much like his former friend to turn a cold shoulder to anybody he didn't care for. He'd become overconfident, however. Frighteningly so. There sat a guy in nothing but some expensive shoes, and Viral who could easily kill him, yet Buddy still had the nerve to put his nose up.

"How much value do you put on your life, Syndrome?" Viral asked pleasantly, unperturbed by the former villain's attitude, at least outwardly. Several small spiders tinkered their way into the red-head's cell, climbing up on his bench to sit. Buddy plucked one of them up before it could scamper away, examining the outward workings of it. By the time he'd looked up again, Viral was pressed against the bars, head tilted slightly to the left and looking far too much like a Cheshire cat.

"Not enough that I wouldn't shoot myself before I'd let you kill me."

* * *

><p>"Damnit, I told him! Why can't he ever just listen! He never listens, Mom! What kind of - for being a genius you sure are a damn idiot!" Violet paced around the PSA office arguing with herself while Helen sat back with her two kids and watched in fascination. They couldn't decide if she was worried sick or just angry as hell. Only moments ago Mirage had filled them in on the basic details; a friend in the bad guy industry had recalled the meeting and informed her that Buddy had been snatched. She was in a far cubicle now researching not only the validity of the claim, but the identity of the captor.<p>

"I'm surprised that nobody would try to kidnap a billionaire sooner." Lily shrugged to herself. Violet had to take in a breath to ignore the comment. She didn't want to think about something like this happening twice! She was concerned about her daughter's lack of feeling towards the situation, but it seemed as though Dakota was making up for the both of them. He'd seen this coming! He'd felt it! Why hadn't he told anybody sooner?

"Violet, you might want to sit down for this." Mirage had re-appeared in the room with a frown. The distressed wife did as she was told, but as suddenly as she'd been angry, she now looked like the beautiful woman was going to tell her the worst. Someone had killed him. Mirage took a seat in a chair not far from the crowd and shuffled some papers in her lap.

"It would seem as though Buddy is being held by a former co-worker of ours, somewhere downtown. His name is Viral," Violet let out the breath she'd been holding. Mirage didn't seem any less calmed by this reaction. She continued, slowly. "Unfortunately, he's a little - how should I say it - unstable. There had been a plan before Kronos. He and Syndrome had spent a considerable amount of time on it, but a difference in opinion led Viral by the wayside, and Syndrome and I finished the work on our own. It's a longer story than that, but." The stunning woman dropped off, making the assumption that Violet wasn't exactly interested in a history lesson at this particular point in time.

"Syndrome. I've heard that name before." Dakota muttered. "The old lady was mentioning something about it. That guy killed a lot of people. What does he have to do with anything?" Helen, Mirage and Violet exchanged glances. Lily looked at Dakota, then back at her mother. The suspicion was evident on her little face. She'd already made the connection. The raven-haired woman shook her head, taking another breath. How to say this without making it sound like a horribly cheesy star wars spoof? Thankfully she didn't have to say anything at all. "Wait... no way! Not Dad! That's impossible!"

"Unfortunately not." Mirage gave him an apathetic glance. Dakota looked between the group, hoping that someone would jump out and scream 'April Fools'.

"But how! Why!"

"There's no easy way to explain it, Kota." Violet sighed. "For every good person, there's a not-so-good one."

"Not-so-good doesn't even begin to describe it, Mom! It's just.. it's evil!"

"I should've told both of you sooner, but-"

"It would've been nice to know that I was the spawn of the devil himself!" Dakota put his hands to his head, trying to take it all in. All those feelings, every time he'd had to convince himself that he was imagining things and that his second parent was perfectly harmless. He'd been right about it all along! Sure, Buddy had his moments, but until now Dakota had thought nothing of it. Just a crazy dad with a crazy job that would've made any normal person a little bit insane... but Syndrome? He'd killed a dozen supers and only God knew how many civilians without batting an eye. How had his sweet, wonderful mother ever fallen for such a sick and twisted bastard?

"Hey, wait a minute!" Violet interjected, amazed that such a horrible thing would come from her son's mouth. Lily on the other hand, didn't seem surprised or even upset. She was thoughtful, however. Why freak out about something that happened in the past? She interrupted Dakota's racing thoughts and saved Violet from a lecture.

"So, are you gonna save him, or let him rot in a dungeon over stuff that happened twenty years ago? He's still my dad too."

"What would you do?" Dakota asked her warily. Lily didn't respond, but the matter-of-fact look on her face gave him the answer he was looking for. Villain or not, he'd been as much a part of their lives as their mother. The moment was short-lived, as Violet had immediately gone off with Mirage to make some kind of plan for his release or escape. She had a lot to learn about this Viral fellow. Helen had accompanied them, leaving the two children to sit silently in the lobby. Lily had pulled out her laptop, typing away without much concern for the situation. Dakota broke the silence, his voice filled with worry.

"You're the most like him, Lil. Aren't you worried that you might.. you know."

"Turn into some psychopath and go on a killing rampage someday?" She didn't look up from her computer.

"Something like that."

"We create our own destinies. Where we're from doesn't dictate what we become. As far as being crazy, though, I'm already halfway there." She looked up from her laptop for long enough to smile at Dakota, but something wasn't quite right about it. The raven-haired boy convinced himself that he was just being paranoid after such an incredible family discovery. Lily was the picture of sanity as far as he was concerned. Sure, she had some dark ideas once in a while, but didn't everyone? Dakota sighed and sat by his sister's side, watching her work. Her experiment from the day before was almost finished.

* * *

><p>"So, that boy of yours. Pretty impressive, is he not?" Viral sat on a bench across from Buddy's cell with a crossword puzzle in one hand and a pen in the other. The red-head couldn't help but wonder how the man was getting his information. Either way, he didn't respond. "What's another word for 'redundant'?"<p>

"Moron."

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not it. At any rate, I've been watching him fairly closely. He's got a very unique power, you know. Very easily misused."

"Try 'superfluous'." Buddy sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Imagine that, right on the first try. You really are a genius, Syndrome." Viral smirked, writing in the word and turning his full attention on the man in the business suit. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking genuinely bored. "But I suppose I should really be putting your mind to better use." Right on queue, several large spiders appeared, crawling into the cell where Buddy was located. The largest picked him up and threw him hard against a wall in one fluid motion. Buddy was caught there, struggling fruitlessly. Viral unlocked and entered the cell, smiling.

"You enjoy torture, do you not? I imagine any who knew Syndrome well would recall some rather inhumane methods of taking information." Buddy pulled at the legs ever more, but it would do no good. He'd hardly had time to throw the villain a nasty look before he was forced to grit his teeth against an electric pulse that nearly took his breath away. "You want to get to the point, Syndrome, we'll get to the point. You tell me what I want to know, and I'll give you the honor of killing yourself. You don't talk, and you can die in a far less pleasant way."

"Let the games begin, then." Buddy collected his words, teeth still chattering from the initial shock. He'd done worse to himself while working on his omni-droids, how bad could this possibly get? Viral's amusement hadn't ceased at his former cohort's sass, however.

"A masochist, are we? You and the lady must've had all kinds of fun."

"More than you can say for yourse-!" He was cut off by another shock, twice as bad as the first. Buddy was left twitching against the wall after it finally subsided. After a third hit, his confidence was beginning to waver some. Sheer willpower kept him eye-to-eye with Viral, a refusal to be bested that the villain watched with morbid curiosity. There was a fire in those blue eyes, and for a moment he almost thought he saw the Syndrome he remembered from all those years ago.

"You're incredibly brave. Someone of your status should be." He hit the red-head with a fourth shock, finally causing him to shout from the pain of it all. "But now, it's time to play Q&A. The code to the room in your office. What is it?" Buddy could hardly make out the sound of Viral's voice by that time. He was fighting back the stars that were invading his sight, trying to set his thoughts straight. "We don't have all day, Syndrome!"

"Get fucked."

_Oh, how far we have yet to go._

* * *

><p>"How exactly do you plan to rescue someone you can't find, Violet?" Mirage muttered from behind her desk work. The tortured man's wife groaned, letting her head touch the desk. Mirage tried to ignore the splay of black hair all over her paperwork.<p>

"I don't know, but I can't just leave him out there!"

"He's a tough cookie, you aughta know that." Helen attempted to assure her daughter, but it wasn't really helping.

"A tough cookie that's only human, Mom."

"I wanna go too." Mirage and violet turned their heads toward Dakota who had finally gotten tired of waiting outside. He took a seat in an empty chair beside his mother. Lily trailed slightly behind, leaning in the cubicle entrance with her laptop under her arm.

"We don't even know where he is. Even so, you're not ready for something like this."

"I've been practicing for years!"

"That's the key word, Dakota. Practice." The young man was just about to shoot back at his mother, but a strange buzz on Mirage's computer screens caught all of their attention. The video slowly tuned in on exactly the person they were looking for. Both of them, actually. Violet gasped as Viral smiled at them. She was far more interested in her husband, however, who looked like he'd just been hit by a freight train. Was he even breathing? Even the typically emotionless Lily's face paled at the sight of him. She had to double her efforts to hold onto the laptop that had nearly slipped out of her fingers. This wasn't any ordinary kidnapping. This guy was for real.

"I hope I haven't interrupted anything, monsieur." He bowed his head lightly. "Syndrome and I have been playing a little game. Oh, don't worry, he's still alive." The man snapped his fingers, triggering another shock. The kids cringed and Violet shouted at the screen while their missing family member writhed in pain against the electricity, shouting every curse word he could think of. The torture subsided, leaving him gasping for air. Buddy took several long moments to regain his composure, spitting blood after a rather nasty tongue bite. Several choice words followed suit, to which Viral tisked lightly.

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't bother contacting you until I was finished with hubby here, but I'd like to request the presence of a certain young lady." Violet turned towards her daughter who looked like she might lose her footing at any moment. Suddenly the idea of being as smart as she was didn't seem so appealing. Dakota immediately moved to her side. Lily gulped, her voice suddenly very mouse-like.

"T-This is about the experiment, isn't it."

"You're a very bright little girl. Oh, don't look so frightened. It's hardly fitting on the face of a Pine. Unbeknownst to daddy here, my family was quite close to his not-so-alive relatives. Somewhat ironic that we should be such terrible enemies now, but that's a story for another day. Learning the unfortunate side effects of living a privileged life will have to wait." He had completely lost the group. Even the trembling girl could do little else but focus in on her father who appeared to be thrashing his mind for any memory of this bastard. He didn't spend a phenomenal amount of time on it, however.

"So if I give you my work, you'll let my dad go?" Lily blinked at the screen.

"That's exactly how it works, have you done this before?"

"Don't do it!" Buddy barked with such a fervor that it caused Lily to jump. Any further words from him were cut off by another shock and Viral turning to tisk him like a child who'd done wrong. The distraction had worked, however. Lily turned her eyes away from the screen, observing her mother and brother. They were just as lost as to what the appropriate thing to do was. Viral didn't seem like the type to play with and Violet wasn't sure how much more of that 'playful' torture Buddy could take.

"Now, now. I believe we've gone over this before, Syndrome. You aren't to speak unless you're first spoken to. Manners, my dear cohort." The shock had let up by the time Viral was at Buddy's side. The villain tapped his captive's head with a pen. "This is her decision, remember? Maybe if I'm feeling good, I'll let her kill you instead. If evil really does travel in the blood, she'll have no trouble at all with it."

"Screwing with kids must really get your rocks off."

"And you lead by an excellent example." Viral smirked, silencing the red-head. He turned back towards the screen, fingers steeped together. Lily had made up her mind. She tried to stand resolutely, but the flutter in her voice had ruined the effect. She ignored the look on Buddy's face. It was her decision.

"I'll do it."

"Good girl. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll expect you to have everything with you outside the Regan building. No tricks, darling. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your perfect little family, now would you?" Viral turned his eyes on Buddy, but the former villain's attention was entirely on the little girl and the rest of his family caught in the crossfire of a stupid grudge. It was only then that he'd noticed Mirage there as well. She'd been as still as a statue throughout the entire ordeal, and for a moment Buddy was surprised that Viral hadn't said anything to her. She'd been on the tail-end of their little spat, but still. Helen had been there as well, rightfully silent.

"Take a good, hard, look." Viral spoke to him. "This may very well be the last time you see any of them." Then the screen went blank, leaving the CEO in the dark. It took his eyes a moment to re-adjust to his surroundings, to see viral standing off on a far corner, then taking a seat on a bench. His green eyes almost appeared to glow in the darkness. When he spoke again, it was hardly above a whisper. "I would love nothing more than to see you left as alone as the day you should've died. Syndrome should have never existed, and I blame myself for the mistake of letting you see your tenth birthday."

"I suggest you pray to God that I don't find a way to kill you first." Buddy hissed. Viral chuckled quietly.

"I don't need to pray, Mr. Pine. You fail to realize that at this moment, I _am_ God."


	5. Super Suit, Super Stressed

"You can't do this." Violet had said the moment the screens went blank. All the adults in the room simultaneously agreed, but Lily was unconvinced.

"If he wants a stupid unfinished experiment, he can have it," Lily clutched her laptop with both hands, eyes wandering for some kind of plan or idea. She shook her head, voice raising and far more resolute than she had been when speaking with Viral. "I won't be the reason he kills Dad!"

"We don't know that he isn't just bluffing us."

"Do you really wanna find out, Mom?" Lily's voice cracked, and she quickly brushed a tear from her cheek. She took several long breaths to calm down while Dakota held her near. Violet shoved her hands in her hair, eyes falling on Mirage. Unfortunately the woman held no reassuring look, only worry for both the captive already in Viral's hands, and the little girl who held someone's life in her hands. Helen spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Whatever happens, know that everyone will be here to help you."

"Including me." Dakota broke in. Lily peered up at him warily for a moment, but couldn't help but smile. She trusted that her brother would keep her safe, much like big brothers were supposed to. Which had caused her to suddenly jump back with a gasp... and a plan.

"Kota! Can you read my mind? Can you learn in a few hours?" She asked quickly, and the boy gave her a confused look.

"I've done it before, but I wasn't very good. Why?"

"Hear me out. If you could read my mind, you would know where this creeper is gonna take me."

"And then we could rescue you both!"

"Exactly!"

"The trouble is that neither Lily or Buddy can defend themselves. If you were to be found out at any time, that'd be the end of the line." Mirage interjected on their master plan, bringing the crowd back to reality. It took Dakota a moment to remind himself that regardless of being a villainous mastermind, his father was indeed only human, and completely useless without his weapons. Lily hadn't run from anything in her life, and wouldn't last a moment on her own. The young boy toiled over this for a while along with everyone else. It was he who next suggested an addition to their plan.

"If you could somehow get to Dad and give him his stuff, he'd still be able to use it, right?"

"That's assuming it still works." Mirage nodded.

"Get me a schematic." Lily nearly demanded. She picked up her laptop and strode out the door with Dakota hot on her heels. The three adults looked between each other, and it was Mirage who had been first to follow the children to their next stop; the library. The three of them blinked incredulously while Violet's daughter and son went through the endless rows of books. By the time they'd left, she had a pile almost as tall as herself. Lily, Dakota and Violet headed up towards her experiment room while Mirage headed off in another direction. Helen headed home to inform her husband of the situation.

"Oh, now where is that damned key." Mirage muttered, typing her way into Buddy's office and rifling the place to pieces. She shouted happily a few moments later, uprooting a piece of metal hardly larger than a sewing pin. some mutterings were made about how unnecessary all of the trouble Buddy went through to keep his things safe was, and moments later Mirage emerged with several large pieces of rolled up paper and a case. She headed back down to Lily, who was now busy reading the books she'd checked out.

"If he can learn quantum physics from a dummies book, then darn it, so I can I!" she declared, rolling open the schematics and examining the items themselves. The idea of zero-point energy went straight over her tiny head, but she read on. After a once-over of the schematic, it was revealed that there was a hell of a lot more going on than just a lazer. The gauntlets had been purposely deactivated by their former owner, and now served as little else but glorified paper-weights in a box. They'd have to be re-built from the ground up. Lily began taking them apart piece by piece in an attempt to understand exactly what was being done. There was no way she'd have enough time to figure everything out...

Mirage had ordered a pizza a while later. Violet and Dakota practiced passing information through telekinesis. violet had never been good at the skill herself, so it was a quick lesson for the both of them. They passed simple words and sentences between each other, trying their best to keep the mood light. Dakota could feel his mother's worry, was sure that she was thinking about what a terrible idea this was. After a moment, he'd caught the tail end of Mirage's mind (she was dreading what would happen after Buddy found out that she was letting people tinker with his stuff - or if Lily broke it). He decided then to move on towards Lily.

"Hey, Lil. Can you think in English, please?" He shouted over towards her. The red-head looked up from her work, blinking at him. In that very moment the gauntlet she had been working on sprung to life. All bodies in the room hit the deck as zero-point energy bounced around, smashing anything it went through until it finally ran out of juice. Lily poked her head out from under the table, staring at the machinery in horror.

"Oops..." She muttered. Mirage uncovered her head, eyes wide. Violet removed herself from the top of her son, who peeked around her shoulder. "I - uh - don't think that's what it's supposed to do. Is that what it's s-supposed to do?"

"That's what it's supposed to do." Mirage sighed while the two children gawked. Sure, the two of them had imagined that he liked to make things go boom, and he'd probably created some pretty heavy artillery. They'd even seen a few omni-droids for themselves, but such a highly-tuned killing beam? How was it even necessary? Mirage brushed herself off and headed over towards the gauntlet, picking it up gently and observing any readings or numbers it gave. For the most part it appeared to be in working condition. For now. "This needs to be tested and equalized. You two keep working, let me know if you get the other one up."

"There's TWO!" Dakota cried. Lily peered at the second gauntlet, shaking her head.

"I don't think we'll need it." She tilted her head at Mirage, who raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me. You'll need it."

* * *

><p>"It took me quite a while to find you, Syndrome. I was sure you'd disappeared. Turns out your little villainous friends are just loyal liars."<p>

"Do you ever shut up?" Buddy muttered. Unfortunately his answer was a shock out of hell. Viral looked insulted for the first time since their meeting. For a moment, Buddy was sure that a tooth was coming lose somewhere. He could've picked a less shocking form of torture! It was an interesting game indeed, seeing just how much he could take. He wasn't dead yet, so he hadn't lost. Viral shook his head, sitting back on the bench he'd been at before.

"Your parents would've been disappointed if they'd been alive to see what you've become. It's pitiful."

"Were you trying to teach me a lesson in morals? I couldn't make it out past all the bullshit."

"And a dirty mouth, to boot." Viral sighed, shocking him again. "One would think that someone in your position would give a damn about his mortality with so much family hanging in the balance. That girl is willing to put her own life on the line for yours." The villain opened up his crossword puzzle book again. He took several long moments to peer at it before looking back up at Buddy with a frown. "I have to ask, was this family of yours a mistake, or did you actually plan for it?"

"Why is it any of your damn business?" Buddy sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just fascinated, that's all."

"By?"

"The fact that you don't seem to give a damn about them at all." Viral almost looked upset as he filled in a word on the paper. Buddy wanted to come back with something snarky, wanted to piss him off again. The statement had thrown him, though. Viral watched the red-head closely, examined his every move while he thought out this deep-ended question. He wouldn't be satisfied until Buddy admitted to being an outright bastard. Maybe he'd learn something from all of this. It would make for an amusing end, if all went well.

"Mistakes, they were not."

"Interesting. Did you know that you _were_?"

"You sick motherfu-"

"-Ah, ah. Language. I tell the truth, though. They'd just made an amazing discovery, they were famous, and to show for it was an accidental you. My father was a close personal friend, I've visited with them many times before that _awful_ mistake. I suppose it didn't matter, mommy loved you all the same. That's the difference, you see. The difference between her, and you. She saved your life, but you wouldn't extend your own children the same courtesy, I'm sure."

"What a load of horse shi-"

"-I hope you haven't taught that girl half of the words that come out of your mouth. We'll find out soon enough. Do try to get some sleep. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"If you touch her..."

"You'll do what? Hang there and look as sad as you have so far? Tell you what." Viral sighed, rolling up his crossword puzzle and pulling a pistol out of his pocket. He entered the cage, peering at several more spiders that climbed his captor, forcing his arm against the wall. The older man put the gun into Buddy's hand gingerly, pointing it towards his head. He stood back to admire his work, then walked out. "If this is really the way you wish to go, then you're welcome to pull the trigger and show your daughter just how much of a selfish coward her father really was. Have a nice night."

* * *

><p>"So that's what it does, huh?" Dakota watched from a distance as Mirage tested out the newly refurbished gauntlets in a driving range. Lily admired her work, proud that she'd been able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Violet was still on edge, wringing her hands and walking the length of the hall beyond the door.<p>

"They're a last defense. Under normal circumstances I might not have agreed to this, but these aren't exactly normal circumstances. The trick is going to be figuring out how to get them to where they need to go. Perhaps a talk with Edna might be in order. If she can make a super suit invisible, why not these?"

"I still need to pick up my suit from her." Dakota nodded. Mirage smiled at him and handed the gauntlets back to Lily who held them as if they might explode at any moment. They really were sweet kids, the kind of kids that made people want kids, or at least she thought. It was right of poor Violet to worry so much. She'd never been a very strict mother, she'd never had to be. Unfortunately, it was almost time for her to let go of her son and let him do what he was born to.. and yet she couldn't stand the idea. It was a day she'd never expected to creep up so quickly. Violet was biting her nails when her family had met up with her again, and welcomed a phone call with someone as crazy as Edna to lighten the air.

"Still with that loser, daaaling? Shame! Shame! He should be paying for the divorce! Yes, you come in right away, don't keep me waiting now!"

* * *

><p>"We've had this conversation before, Ed." Violet sighed, allowing herself to be pushed along by the little lady while her children snickered in the rear. The trip to her mansion had been fairly short, and they'd all been ushered in with a thousand hellos before she'd started in again on their current conversation. "I'm not divorcing Buddy! Not now, not ever!"<p>

"That dress was one of a kind and he ruined it with that bad weather, woman, you deserve better! And look at you, you're all bones! Chicken arms! Not healthy, daaling, not good at all. And you!" Her large glasses were turned upon Mirage. "It's been years! Get a ring already! Fall weddings are out of season, it's drab, darling. Too too drab."

"Maybe later, Edna. We're here for Dakot-"

"Yes, yes yes, the boy. Right right." The little lady waved a hand dismissively in Dakota's direction, leading the group down into her showroom without a word to Lily, as the little red-head was incredibly thankful for. They sat through her long monologue about what she'd created; an indestructible suit, lightweight and able to amplify telekinesis by a substantial distance. Designed to be fashionable, but no capes! The way Edna had described it left Dakota feeling as though he might've been trying on a dress. It wasn't until after the pomp and circumstance that Violet handed her the gauntlets. Edna had cringed, waving her hands while Violet explained away the situation.

"Last thing he needs, are you mad!"

"Unfortunately it's the last thing he's going to get. I need to get in there and get them out. They're going right back where they came from as soon as we're done, but I can't make it vanish by myself. Can you do it?"

"It'll be a challenge, daaling, not one that I'm willing to take. Not for him, anyway."

"Edna!" Violet groaned loudly, stalking away as the home's phone rang. The little old lady picked it up immediately, jabbering away while Mirage tried to console the distraught mother. The children looked at each other, unable to think of a proper response. It was like an episode of One Life To Live. Lily sighed, but then just as suddenly shouted in surprise as the gauntlets were plucked out of her hands by Edna, who had finished her conversation. Violet turned around quickly, blinking.

"Your mother called, she wants these on a rush job. Rush! You don't rush_ perfection_, daaling. You don't! What're these made out of anyway? No matter, no matter, I'll see what I can do. Come, come! This kind of work doesn't usually come free, dear, I suggest you thank her for being so kind. Is this the same metal that silly rolly-polly robot was made out of? Who has this kind of time on their hands!" Edna had never bothered to stop insulting her work at any opportunity. As distressing as it was, Violet kept her cool and allowed the little lady to conduct dozens of experiments on the equipment. After what seemed like hours, she'd finally come up with a solution.

"Touch it, touch it! It's marvelous!" Edna shoved the gauntlets into Violet's hands. Sure enough, they vanished as she did. Violet breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to get up and leave the lady behind until she was grabbed by the wrists and forced to sit again. "Ah, ahah! You hear me out, darling, and you hear me out well. Once these murder weapons have served their purpose, they get destroyed! You hear me, Violet Parr! Destroyed! Ruined! Out of service, I never want to see or hear from them again! I refuse to have my name affiliated with that creature you call a husband!"

"I get it, Ed." Violet rolled her eyes, getting back to her feet again and heading off before the crazy lady could keep them for more of her one-sided conversations. Instead of heading home however, the troupe went back to the PSA office and set up camp. Lily typed on her laptop at a feverish pace, and Dakota tested out his new suit. Things felt different in this outfit, for sure. It was as if there wasn't nearly as much impeding his power. Moving things was easier, and he could clearly make out his mother's thoughts, no matter how upsetting they were. He sat back, floating a baseball above his hand. His attention was turned towards his sister.

_Do you think everything is going to be okay?_

_I don't think so,_ Dakota smiled. _I know so._


	6. He Deserved It

Lily had hardly been able to sleep. Usually a few breathing exercises were enough to calm her mind and put her to rest, but the idea of what she was about to do and the sight of her father in such distress kept her up nearly all night. She'd never thought for a moment that a super's secret identity could be so easily bypassed. Granted, Buddy Pine had become far too confident with the power he no longer possessed, and now their entire family was in jeopardy over it. At one time, all she wanted was to get some degrees and become a famous scientist. Now all she wanted was to live to see her next birthday. Would that be too much to ask? Lily closed her eyes for sleep, only to be awakened by her brother. Perhaps her worry had filtered into his own thoughts.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We'll find a way to get Dad back." Dakota whispered. Lily sat up quietly, leaning on his shoulder. Maybe it was his powers, maybe it was sibling bonding, but where she now sat had always been the most comforting place in the world. She sighed, pushing bangs out of her face.

"I already agreed to it, and you heard what he said. No tricks." Her brother frowned, blue eyes wandering around the room looking tiredly for solutions. He'd already lost his father, he didn't want his sister to go too! He felt entirely helpless against the psycho that was Viral. The silence between the siblings went on for several long minutes until Lily spoke again, hardly above a whisper. "Do you think that he deserved it?"

"Who?"

"Dad. Does he deserve this? Is this just some kind of karma coming back to haunt all the bad things he's done?"

"Nobody deserves this, Lil," Dakota sighed, leaning back against the cubicle wall that they'd both crunched into. "I thought about it a lot today. It was a really bad thing, what he did. He killed a lot of people and ruined a lot of families. He almost killed mom, too. But she saw something good. Maybe I'll never really get that. Maybe Dad will never be a good guy. But he's always been there for us even if he didn't want to. He makes Mom happy."

"Like that graduation ceremony." The two of them smirked at the memory. Just as Bob had done many years ago, Buddy had pitched a fit at the idea of a ceremony for moving from the fourth to the fifth grade. Regardless, he'd been there, albeit distracted by other things, but that wasn't the point.

"He's a good dad, even if he's not a good person." Dakota nodded.

"The best one, and the only one we have. And that's why I've gotta do it." Lily said resolutely. Dakota hugged her lightly. A light rustling sound had turned both of their heads towards the entrance to the cubicle. Violet appeared there a moment later, caught even if she hadn't been seen. She hated that her children had to grow up so quickly, had to think about such terrible things. Violet couldn't help but smile, though. She shimmied her way in between the two kids, hugging them tightly.

"And you're the two best kids in the world. I love you two.. so much." She sniffled. It was a moment that would've usually caused Dakota to roll his eyes, but not this time. This was serious, and he gave it the respect it deserved.

"We'll be okay. But you have to promise me something, Mom."

"Yes, Lil?"

"Pizza party when it's all over." The poor mother was halfway between laughing and sobbing. At some point the three of them had finally gone to sleep.

When morning came, nothing but a silent dread hung in the air. There were so many things that Violet wanted to say to her kids that spent the majority of the day practicing passing thoughts, but she couldn't come up with anything. She'd never have enough words to describe how proud she was of them.

Mirage sat back with a cup of coffee, quietly contemplating what was going to happen. It was a strange feeling that she had; this was the first of Syndrome's idiotic moments that she would have almost no part in. For the first time, she was completely irresponsible for the outcome. She and Buddy had worked closely for a very long time, long before any of Bob Parr's encounters with the maniac as he was then. Besides Violet, Mirage considered herself one of the few people that really understood what was going on in that head of his, on both sides of the fence. Perhaps she'd only stuck around because she was the only person that could stand to work in close proximity with Mr. Pine for more than a few minutes at a time. _Who knows, if reality hadn't hit when it did, I might've been in her place instead._

_But then he would've never learned. You were perfect for him, Violet. I might be the only person he can work with, but you're the only person that can keep his feet on the ground and head out of the clouds._

"It's time to go, Mom." Lily peered at her watch, packing up her laptop and whatever Viral might want from her. Dakota was suited up and ready to go, and violet came up behind them not long after. As they were about to walk out the door, her phone vibrated. Violet picked it up, frowning immediately.

"Channel 4, turn it on." Helen sighed. Violet turned her back to the front door, seeking out a remote. Lily and Dakota turned around as well. All three were met with the sounds of screaming and a frightened reporter. Viral had already beat them to the Regan building and was terrorizing the citizens with his multi-sized spiders for fun while he waited. The police? They could do little else but hang back and hope that the little mechanical terrors didn't swarm them. Lily's eyebrows furrowed as she realized that her father was nowhere to be seen. Dakota whirled around immediately, heading out the door. The little red-head followed right behind. The drive to the building was only a few minutes, and Viral saw them coming well before they arrived.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Gentlemen. It's a pleasure to meet you personally." He smiled as the three exited their vehicle.

"I've got what you want, where's my dad." Lily glared at him hard. He'd seen the girl in photographs, video from surveillance, but the sight of her in person was enough for the older man to smile giddily. If Buddy were two feet shorter (not including the hair) and female, that's what he'd look like. Same flaming hair, same freckles, same unpleasant expression. It was comedy gold. Dakota on the other hand looked strikingly like his mother with shorter hair. Viral assumed that he might have similar powers as well, but there was no way to tell. Violet flanked the two of them, clearly ready for a fight if she had to have one. Viral shook his head, taking several confident steps towards the group.

"Unfortunately he couldn't be here. Syndrome is far too busy contemplating the importance of his life at the moment, and I didn't think it would be right to interrupt." He smiled as the expressions on their faces changed dramatically. "And that aside, you owe me a completed project, not half of one."

"You can't just finish it yourself?" Lily asked.

"You're the genius here, my darling. I'm just the bad guy." The long-haired villain took a look at Dakota, noting the boy's vicious stare. What a good brother she had. Viral tisked lightly, head moving side to side. With a single twitch of his finger the spiders converged upon the group, removing Lily from the picture. There was no fight, and no struggle. The event had ended as quickly as it had started, leaving the boy and his mother in a panicked street with no sign of the daughter they'd arrived with. For the sake of the people, the two cleared the area of spiders. Dakota attempted desperately to hear the girl who'd so suddenly vanished, but there was nothing. Focus, focus!

_Where am I..._

The voice had come to him so quietly that he'd had to strain to hear it. The spiders had finally been cleared by that time, allowing him a moment to sit down and concentrate. Incredigirl was off with the press, assuring them that all was well and the day would be saved. How much strength it had to have taken to tell such a lie. Dakota sighed, re-doubling his efforts. Where was she? Did she even know? How had Viral disappeared so quickly! Violet was eventually allowed to return to her son, collapsing beside him and waiting as patiently as she could for some kind of response.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to your temporary home, dear." Viral smiled as a troop of spiders dragged the little girl into a cell along with her case and laptop. The light was dim, hardly enough for her to see from one side of the caged area to the other. It was only as the older man tisked and moved a few feet over that she realized her father was in the next cell over. "Still alive, are you? Seems like your bark really is worse than your bite after all."<p>

"I've decided that if I'm going to hell, you're coming with me." Buddy hissed, raising an eyebrow as the gun was removed from his hand and returned to its former place. It wasn't until then that the lights snapped on, nearly blinding both he and Lily. Buddy cringed, attempting to let his eyes adjust. He'd seen only a flash of his daughter, who had seen just about as much of him. Viral removed himself from the CEO's cell, calling the spiders away. Buddy was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor, and for a moment he wondered if he could walk at all after being strung up for so long. He made the effort, however, and dragged himself over to the little girl who waited patiently on the other side of the bars. She reached in and gave him the best hug she could manage, which caused Viral to smirk.

"How happy she is to see the person who's single handedly ruined her life. Such a bittersweet symphony."

"Guess you've never cared about anybody before." Lily leaned back, gripping the bars with a savage glare.

"I care for many things, my dear. One of which you now have 48 hours to complete," He pointed a finger at the girl, shaking it.

"I don't need any gadgets to strangle your skinny little neck-" Buddy began, but Viral cut him off.

"I've done you a phenomenal favor, Syndrome. You're beside your child, and not strung up like a doll. Don't make me re-think my generosity."

"Some Santa Clause you've turned out to be." The man huffed, but a small hand grabbing at his shirt silenced any further words he might've had. Viral raised an eyebrow plaintively, waiting for any further complaint. He tapped his foot gently for a moment, sliding over towards Lily's cell. Several spiders who had been hiding in the shadows clattered in with her. The little girl's eyes widened, and she pushed herself as far against the bars as she could as they creeped close enough to tug at her. Almost immediately Buddy's expression had gone from defiant to shocked and sickened. "You wouldn't..."

"Tempt me, dear cohort." Viral's eyes narrowed dangerously and for the first time since Buddy's arrival, he'd slowly and unwillingly backed down. The act caused the villain to nod with approval. "As difficult as it is for you, Syndrome, I implore you to stay on your best behavior. For her sake. Though it surprises me," Viral tilted his head slightly. "Torture of children never bothered you much before. What makes this so different?"

"What's he talking about..." Lily muttered quietly, still pushed against the bars while the little spiders taunted her. "Perhaps I should let you two have a little family time. You've got a lot of catching up to do, as I understand it." The older man gave the two of them a long glance, hoping to get some kind of a reaction that interestingly enough did not come. Buddy sat back silently, eyes spacing out elsewhere. There was no way to explain how different things really were. This was family. The only family he had. This was different.

It was true that the Syndrome Viral knew would have been having a hell of a time with this situation. He would've gone through with it just to see the tortured face of the audience. But this person sitting in the cell.. this wasn't the same Syndrome that existed then, and it nearly drove him out of his mind sitting there, thinking that anybody would be cruel enough to want to see it again. Buddy leaned against the bars heavily as Viral finally made his exit, sighing as the spiders finally moved away from Lily. The girl sat beside her father, peering at the back of his head.

"Now's a better time than never, I guess."

* * *

><p>Dakota was beating himself up all the way back to the PSA office. Despite Violet's attempts at consoling the boy, there he sat with a look of anger that couldn't be described. He'd lost her. He'd lost his sister, the person he'd promised to protect. Their father was still missing, and it was only a matter of time before Viral came back for more, he was sure. The situation had been explained to Mirage who could only shake her head.<p>

"There's nothing you could have done, Dakota." Mirage put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but he swiped it away in a rage.

"There's always something I could've done! I could've gone after him, I could've even stopped him! I let him go, and now she's gone and it's all my fault!"

"No, honey, it's not. We'll get her back, I promise."

"I made a promise, mom... and now I've broken a promise." The raven-haired boy paced around the room. All he wanted to do was sit there and cry, to break something, to go after the bastard that took away his family and cause him as much grief as possible. Every emotion in the world had bottled up within him, and there was nowhere for it to go. She was gone. He collapsed into a chair heavily, and almost as quickly jumped out of it. Violet focused upon him completely as a tear came to his eye.

_I'm okay, Kota...but I don't know where I am. Dad's here too. The voice was weak, and frightened._

_Lily! What does the place look like! Maybe we can find someone who knows, holy cow, you're alive... I'm so sorry! I should've done better, I-_

_You're here now, that's all that matters. It's dark here, I can only guess that we're underground. Kind of reminds me of a sewer, there's cells down here. Lots of spiders around, it's really scary here. I just want to leave already..._

_We'll get you out, I promise. I promise!_

_Thank you, Kota._

"She's okay, mom, she's okay!" He nearly shouted in elation, jumping into Violet's arms. "They're underground somewhere, she said it's like a sewer. Do you know anybody like that?" He asked immediately, eyes shifting between both Violet and Mirage. It was the foreign woman who's eyes narrowed immediately. Suddenly it all made sense. That night Buddy had called her. He'd asked for a very specific person, and that very person was now supplying Viral with the tools to do her co-worker in. Violet turned towards the woman, and immediately her suspicions were confirmed. Simultaneously, they named their captor.

"The Underminer."

Immediately they began on a plan. Not only did they have to find the exact location of their fugitives, but Violet had to sneak her way in and make a delivery to her fairly helpless husband. She knew full and well the kind of destruction he'd be capable of with a bad mood and nasty gadgets. That was of course assuming that his aim was still as good as it used to be. Not that it mattered. Nothing would be left standing if he had his way, especially against someone as lowly as "Miney". Violet was perfectly alright with the idea of letting her ex-villainous lover wreak havoc upon his own kind, at least this time.

Dakota meanwhile had sat back, keeping Lily quiet and calmed with occasional conversations. She worked quickly on her project, taking very little time to talk to the man in the other cell. After the last conversation she'd had with him, it was all she could do to hold herself together. She didn't want to tell Dakota the things she'd found out, what kind of brutal honesty she'd just been given by someone who was sure he was done for. A long silence had finally fallen between the siblings. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that she'd spoken to him again.

_Kota._

_Yeah?_

_Remember when you asked if Dad deserved what he was getting?_

_I thought I went over that already._

_I know we did.. Kota... but now I'm not so sure anymore._


End file.
